British body bans Dakota Fanning fashion ad

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has banned a magazine advertisement for a fragrance featuring teenage actress Dakota Fanning because it “could be seen to sexualize a child.

The ASA’s ruling means the campaign cannot appear in publications again in its current form.

“We understood the model was 17 years-old but we considered she looked under the age of 16,” the ASA said in a ruling published on its website Wednesday. “We considered that the length of her dress, her leg and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality,” it added.

“We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and was likely to cause serious offence.”

The advertisement, which appeared in glossy magazines ES Magazine and the Sunday Times Style magazine, was for fashion designer Marc Jacobs’ “Oh, Lola!” fragrance, which is produced and distributed by Coty UK.

Coty UK and the two magazines said they had not received any complaints about the advertisement, but the ASA said it received four.

The group said its decision was partly based on the “sexually provocative” way the oversized perfume bottle, shaped like a vase holding a flower in bloom, rested between Fanning’s legs.

Coty UK told the ASA that the advertisement appeared in fashion magazines which targeted people over 25 years of age.

Child star Fanning has starred alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Tom Cruise in “War of the Worlds” and Denzel Washington in “Man on Fire.”